Accepting Change
by BmOrxN1nj4
Summary: Change has always been difficult for a Viking to comprehend. I mean, we're Vikings, we have... stubbornness issues. But sometimes, change is the only thing that can keep us alive. We need it to continue to be stubborn about change. My first story so please tell me if I'm doing alright. Rated T because I intend on some foul language and adult ideas.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys this is my first story attempt so please give me some slack and/or feedback on how I'm doing. I hate to say that I may not be the most frequent or consistent updater but I will try to do it whenever I can, you know school. Thanks and enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD, as you would guess.**

* * *

I don't know where they took Toothless. Though, after when I attempted to show the village that dragons aren't the mindless killing machines we thought they were, I guess I can't blame them. We're Vikings, we have… stubbornness issues. I just hope they didn't hurt him though, but what are the odds of that? This is all my fault. Why didn't I just leave? What do I possibly have to gain from being here? All anyone expects from me is "Hiccup the Useless", so what am I trying to do or prove? Huh, it's all so messed up…

"Hiccup?" a voice said to me from behind.

I knew who it was, I just decided to delay the inevitable by speaking dumbly.

"What do you want? Who is it?" I said, curled up in a ball with my head in my hands.

"You know who it is you idiot, and you know why I'm here too…" she said as her tone lightened up. She was the only other one who understood Toothless like I did, who didn't want to hurt him, or me for that matter.

"Just go away!" I mumbled into my hands.

"I'm not going anywhere." She firmly stated. I knew this was a losing battle, so I slowly stumbled my way out of the Great Hall to her. The sun was low, meaning I had been moping for a good hour or so to this point. As I slowly approached that voice of a goddess, all I could see was her perfect teen silhouette in the sun.

"Astri-id…" whining seemed like the only way I could speak at this point. After a short pause, I felt a sharp pain in my right shoulder.

"OW! What was that for?" I whined as I reached to rub my shoulder at the spot in which she hit me.

"That's for whining like a baby. Now let's go get Toothless back." As she grabbed my arm, I tugged it away as hard as I could to make my point. I knew I couldn't get Toothless back, I'm just so… _Useless_.

"I can't get him back, I've already messed up so much. I'm just…tired of it." She shrugged off this comment, shifting her weight to her other foot and took her hands off her hips, tugging on my shirt to go.

"Come on Hiccup, let's go…"

"Astrid stop."

"Come on, stop whining…"

"Stop."

"Hic-cup…"

"STOP!" I yelled as my sudden outburst surprised her.

"Haven't I lost enough today! I lost my best friend, my home, and I was disowned! Can't I just have some time alone!?" I screamed at her even though I wasn't mad at her. I was just so pent up with anger at this point I…just needed to release it. She just stared at me, her facial expression was blank. Her eyes didn't seem to be looking at anything, just staring off into space. Her arms that had been tugging on my shirt just fell limp at her sides.

"Did you just say…disowned?" she barely made out that last word. _Disowned_. Wow, I think I just realized what I had said too. Though, it didn't really feel like being disowned to me. It almost feels, dare I say, being freed?

"Yes Astrid, I was disowned." I said with a sick tone in my voice. She just stared at me with that blank expression, almost staring into my soul it seemed, though I tried to give her nothing to notice.

"I…well…Hiccup I-I…" she stuttered, trying to find the right thing to say. Her eyes then began to dart back and forth, as she tried to figure out what to say. I held my hand up to her to motion to stop.

"Its fine Astrid, I accept it…I guess." At this point I just sat back down against the door of the Great Hall and buried my head deeper into my hands to try and block everyone out. I didn't hear anything for a bit, then, a slow shuffling could be heard heading those wide steps that lead up to the Great Hall. She seemed to take the hint and walked off, though she kept looking back at me until her line of sight was blocked by one of the houses, at which I heard her pace quicken into a run. With a gust of wind, she was gone.

I sat there for what felt like forever, until I heard a bunch of commotion going on at the docks, and remembered what was about to happen. Other than my entire village getting prepared to sail to their deaths, my best friend was going to be accompanying them.

I heard a loud shriek and then a familiar shriek, accompanied by another familiar sounding explosion. I quickly stood up, trying to shift my view as to see what was going on.

"Toothless…" I muttered this to myself as I bolted to the docks.

* * *

Upon arriving at the docks, I saw Toothless in a defensive stance on the wooden path down to the sea. He had broken off the piece he was standing on from the rest of the wooden path by firing plasma blasts at either sides, which slowly burned away the wood, increasing the gap between him and the villagers.

"Toothless!" I yelled as his slit eyes looked over at me, quickly causing him to react. The sound of the charging plasma bolt in his throat could be heard, causing a couple of villagers to duck to the ground. The shot fired out of his mouth, hitting the cliff our docks were _genius-ly_ built underneath, causing a small rockslide. Rocks, ranging from pebbles to the size of my dad's head, could be seen plummeting onto the unsuspecting group of villagers. The clang of stone hitting metal became a commonly heard sound throughout the docks, and splashes of water from rocks or dazed villagers became one too. Amiss the chaos, Toothless leaped towards the blasted area then pushed off of it, as to get over the gap and the villagers in one move. One villager seemed to grab his tail, in which he quickly flicked him off into the water, landing with a loud smack.

Toothless bounded over to me and gave me a quick nudge.

"I'm glad you're ok too bud, but we need to go." I hurriedly said while climbing atop Toothless, strapping myself in and quickly slipping my foot into the specially made mechanism as the group of villagers quickly charged towards us, screaming and yelling only Thor knows what. We took off into the sky.

As we went, I saw a certain Viking just watching wide-eyed, as she started sprinting towards the cove.

"We gotta hurry, bud."

* * *

**Whew, alright now that I have an idea of what to do, I will try to make it better but until then and until I figure out how to work the website, I bid you Adieu .**


	2. Chapter 2

**Alright, on to the next chapter. I though I should have more than one chapter to start off with. You could say that this is a little bit more a preset to the story but I feel it is nessecary .**

**Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD or any of it's characters.**

* * *

I just had to get away from him, I just couldn't stand seeing him so…thrown aside, forgotten about, _disowned_. I still couldn't believe that. I mean, I know Stoick had never treated Hiccup much like an equal, let alone a father, but I didn't think that he would just…disown him. I felt some tears start to water up in my eyes. _What am I doing? I don't cry, I'm a Viking._ That didn't matter though as I quickly wiped the tears forming in my eyes. In my moment of thought, a shrieking roar was echoed throughout the village.

I quickly ran out of my house and towards the docks, leaping over a cart full of weapons battle prepped and ready for, as Stoick called it, their village's "Greatest victory to come." I came upon the cliff that overlooks the docks. I saw everyone preparing for that voyage into Hellheim's Gate. Catapults were being loaded, weapons tossed onto ships in large bundles, and medical supplies, or at least what we Vikings thought of as medical supplies. Everything, though, seemed to have been dropped when Toothless had escaped.

I ran up just in time to see him firing his shots at the base of the chains that held him, incinerating the iron chains that bound him, and quickly escaping the iron rings that held him. Toothless fired warning shots at the base of the villager's feet. Upon impact, the shots sent splinters of wood flying everywhere, and setting the path to the docks alight. This caused the section of the dock to break apart from the rest, and gave Toothless a chance to size everyone up.

Toothless didn't exactly have much time, as more and more people kept pouring in on either side, battle ready. I even saw my mum and father grab axes in order to try and tame "the offspring of lightning and death itself_."_

_I guess that his mouth strap was a bit loose and he broke it_ I thought to myself.That didn't matter though, as a familiar voice yelled for the jet black dragon, causing everyone to look away.

"Toothless!" Hiccup called, gaining an immediate reaction from the dragon. He sent a pile of rocks crashing into the unsuspecting villagers, leaping over them as he reached his rider. I stood and stared, wide eyed at just how agile the dragon was on the ground.

Hiccup quickly mounted his dragon and took off into the air. I was assuming where he would go, so I took off sprinting towards the forest. I had to find Hiccup.

* * *

I ran through the forest as fast as I could, dodging rocks, tree branches, and any animal that seemed to cross my path. I slid down the ever so strange yet familiar trench in the dirt. _I wonder where that came from? _Grass had begun to grow back over, so it must've been here for a pretty long time. I shrugged off the thought as I jumped over the log where I learned just how harmless, albeit deadly, Toothless really was. When they took me on that magical flight around…

_What am I doing? I don't get gushy, when did I start doing that?_ I stopped worrying though and kept thinking about my destination. I continued running until I saw that small opening in the cove, allowing me to enter.

I slid down the hill face and ducked under that shield stuck in the rocks just to find…

Nothing. There was nothing here, not even a trace of…_Anything_! I stomped my foot in frustration, causing some soot from Toothless' bed spots to puff up into the air. _I guess that technically is…something_ I thought, suddenly grinning to myself. Coming back to reality though, I couldn't decide what to do next. I searched around the cove, making my way from the outside in. Hiccup had shown me where a lot of the important steps in bonding with Toothless had happened. The drawing Hiccup had made of Toothless in the dirt, in the middle of the "drawing" Toothless had made. The multitude of scratch marks on the wall from Toothless trying to escape the cove. I took it all in, almost forgetting I was searching and just taking a trip down memory lane.

I walked over to the rock in which I had waited for Hiccup to figure out how he had become so good at dragon training and sat down. Turning to face the pond in the cove and clear my thoughts, I discovered a piece of paper on the other side of the paper. My lips began to twist upwards at the ends, eventually turning into a full on smile, hoping for an explanation or a letter or _something_ from Hiccup on what in the name of Thor he was doing. I turned the paper over only to have my hopes shattered and feelings churned. It only had three little words on it.

_Never Forget Us_. What does that mean? Why does he have to be so cryptic? Why could he possibly want me never to forget him? And Toothless, I guess. He already knew that it wasn't going to happen. _Or at least, _I _know..._

"Hiccup, where did you go?" I stared into the sky to wonder what he meant, hoping that just because I looked he would come flying back. But he never did. I stared at the sky until dusk, and with a growl of my stomach, I headed for home, with the paper clenched tightly in my hand.

* * *

Upon landing in the cove, I knew I didn't have much time. I had already had everything packed up and in the cove, following the flight I took Astrid on yesterday. Everything was going so right too. She was holding my waist and had her head on my shoulder as we flew through the air on a beautiful day and evening, for Berk that is. It was so perfect, as the girl of my dreams was finally not resenting me. I didn't have to look into those sky blue eyes that could dig right through your very soul from afar. I was able to have them look at me with pleasure and friendship, rather than perversion or creepiness.

Wow did the turn of events change that though. I almost couldn't smile about it anymore after today had gone so horribly wrong, but hey, at least Toothless and I were here together. I quickly loaded up his saddle, checking to make sure everything was still in my basket from yesterday, and mounted him.

"You and I are _now_ going to take a little trip…forever…" I grinned a little at that, remembering yesterday. I did say I could _almost_ not able to smile about the flight yesterday. But right before we took off though, I had a thought.

"Hold on a sec bud." I said as I jumped off of him. Toothless whirred in confusion as I grabbed a piece of paper and a pen from the basket on his saddle. I thought about writing a note to Astrid since I knew she was coming here, but there wasn't enough time. Instead I just wrote three little words.

"_Never Forget Us_." I said out loud, hoping to get some critique from someone. Toothless seemed to understand and nudged me a little. I pet his head and hopped onto him, as we took off to where only the gods know where. I wasn't sure where I was going or what I was going to do, but I knew I had to get out of Berk, cause' there wasn't a reason to stay there. We headed south for what seemed like forever, hoping to find something to start on.

* * *

**Alright, let me know how I did, and if I should just cut to the chase or elaborate more on Hiccup. Until then, I bid you Adieu.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry it has been so long, testing and finals can wreak hell on your life, and I did say I would be inconsistent. But, anyways, here it is.**

* * *

The sun was shining bright through my bedroom window. It was a rather calm morning, a little wet from a previous rain, but nonetheless, nice. Even my family was being rather quiet at the time. You know how it is with family, mum wanting you to learn how to cook while dad wants you to keep training to become the greatest warrior Berk has to offer.

Then there's your little brother.

Whether he runs into my room and pours cold water on my head or decides to throw all my clothes outside, forcing me to walk out in my… sleeping outfit. I just want to ring his little neck and throw him to floor, forcing him to at least apologize. But no, with his innocent face and a quick childly whimper, mum has to force me to get off of him and leave me alone, that I'm too old to be acting like this. It isn't fair. Why does he walk on water to them?

It's not like Asmund is innocent in any way. He even looks guilty. He is seven years old, with dirty blonde hair and a streak of brown running down the side. He wasn't bulky by anyone's standards, but he wasn't thin either. He usually wore a sort of brownish, yak's fur coat, with a white wool undershirt and black pants. He definitely takes after my father, other than the blonde hair, of course.

He sort of reminds me of him… of course he was broader, and was most likely not going to be thin for much longer, as he was at that age where they start to grow. But still, I couldn't stop thinking he looks like him…

It has been five years since he left, and a lot has changed. The teenagers we all used to be, Snotlout, the Twins, Fishlegs, and I are all nineteen and twenty by now, and are into our marriage ages. Fishlegs and Ruffnut have already been together for a year now, and they seem to be very happy together. There is even a little rumor around that a small Ingerman may be on the way soon enough. Tuffnut is still, well… _immature_ and Snotlout still is trying to hit on me.

Like, _everyday_. Whenever he can. I can't even tell you how much I want to tie him to a mast and ship him off. Maybe come up with the excuse for feeding gone mad. Nah, that would never work. Oh well, eventually I'll think of something. He had only become more cocky with age, and he never let one thing down. I refused to fight the dragon for dragon training after the events that transpired after _he_ had attempted it, therefore allowing Snotlout the "honor". Snotlout had been victorious, I'll give him that, but I don't know if his left hand had been worth it. He had trouble getting used to it as it seemed, but Gobber had helped him along. He eventually went back to that Monstrous Nightmare he had defeated, and proceeded to chop off its arms and legs as payback. He did always say he would do that.

The village has also changed a little, albeit not that much, excluding the houses that had to be rebuilt from the dragon raids. A couple new sheep farms, some new cabbage fields, as Mildew's cabbages still make you want to lose your lunch, just by smelling them. I really don't get how his cabbages are so… repulsive. I mean, how does he do that? It's not like it's that hard to plant cabbages, especially if the field is right in front of your house. I guess only Odin knows how, or will ever know how for that matter.

Gobber had even constructed some bola launching device to help capture any dragons that attempted to attack the catapults. He may have taken credit, or was forced to take credit by Stoick, but we all knew where we had seen that design before…

Stoick had continued his chiefing duties as he has always done, but has been a bit more on edge it seemed. He didn't enjoy chiefing as much as he used to, and it seemed to me that nothing he did anymore was very passionate in that case. In dragon raids, he would get into scuffles with the dragons, but he didn't charge in with a war cry or go looking for those fights anymore. He just fought the dragons, assessed the damage, spewed out orders then… left. To his home, as usual. He didn't come out as often as he used to, or at least since _he_ left…

_Ugh… why does everything keep coming back to him?_ I just couldn't get him out of my head of late. I mean, why him? He always messed up, he couldn't do anything right it seemed, he couldn't hold a hammer, couldn't swing an axe, he had that stupid little half-smile, that bright auburn hair, those big, emerald green eyes…

_What am I doing? I thought I was over this…_ I just couldn't get over it I guess. I've even kept that last, cryptic memory of him in my old leggings. It was a little runny, and had wear and tear from the years, but it was still legible…

"_Never Forget Us._"

* * *

I got up out of bed and put on my new favorite red tunic, along with the same old shoulder pads, albeit resized a bit, and armored skirt. With a quick pull up of my navy blue legging and a thick fur coat, I walked over to the mirror to try and do my hair. I have always tried and tried to get my bangs to stay out of my eyes, but it just has never worked. I guess it was a staple at this point. It couldn't hurt to try though.

After about fifteen minutes of aggressive tugging and brushing, I gave in, and went downstairs for breakfast. I could hear my feet creak under the floorboards as I came downstairs to a newly lit fire and the smell of chicken beginning to roast. A few candles were lit near the darker corners of the room, and a small figure could be seen sitting at the table on the other side of the room.

"Well, look who's finally up. Queen barf-face herself." Asmund said as formally as he could, slowly bowing his head towards the floor in the process of it all. _Great, right to the insults, as usual._ But, unusually, I decided not to respond and quickly walked on over to my mum, who was checking on the chicken and also had seemed to shrug off the abrupt comment.

"Good morning dear, sleep well? You moved around a lot last night." My mum asked with that motherly tone.

"I'm fine mum, don't worry. Just a dream, that's all." I tried to answer as nonchalantly as possible, but to no avail.

"Was it about _him_ again?" She asked, smiling at the thought.

"No! Come on mom, you know that…" I trailed off as I looked at her little grin and a face that meant _Oh, really?_ I smiled quickly and blushed, then turned around quickly as to avoid being seen with blood rushing to my cheeks.

Amongst the… tender moment me and my mother had, I almost forgot the one annoying thing still in the room…

"Astrid's got a boyfriend! Astrid's got a boyfriend!" Asmund chanted, as to try and get dad to hear as he was chopping wood outside for the fire. My blush only deepened, and I quickly turned towards the door, only to hear an explosion following my quick pivot.

"_Dragon raid!_"

With the blush disappearing from my cheeks, I grabbed my axe and ran outside, scanning the horizon for the first explosion that had transpired. I heard my mother yell to Asmund to stay inside, and a groan and whine from him was the reaction. He had always been stubborn, and did things he wasn't supposed to, just like _him_…

_Got to focus!_ I charged towards the first dragon I saw, a Gronkle, who was attempting to grab a line of hanging fish. I first swung at its neck, but the beast saw me out of the corner of its eye and swung that boulder-like tail at my head. I ducked out of the way and struck the Gronkle in the eye with the shaft of my axe. It flinched and flew off, with the fish still lying on the ground. It may not have been clean anymore, but at least it hadn't been taken.

I proceeded deeper into the village, helping out anyone who had been outnumbered or outmatched. I could hear Stoick's voice echoing throughout the village, overtop of any screaming Viking, roaring dragon, or explosion. This was one hell of a dragon raid too, so he had better of been on his best.

"Somebody get over to the square and help Gobber with the Nightmare!" I heard him bellow. I had recently started to be viewed as one of the only Vikings who could tangle with a Monstrous Nightmare, so I wasn't about to give up the chance to fight an actual wild one in a real raid for the first time. I turned around and ran down the wooden path along the edge of the cliff. I rounded a well, kicking some Terrible Terrors out of the way as I bolted for the square.

I first saw the Nightmare's tail swinging at Gobber's only good leg, trying to trip him over. Gobber noticed this and swung his hammer into the path of the tail, striking it. I heard a loud crack and a yelp of pain from the dragon as it threw its wings into the air. It tried to retreat to the cliff so it could take off, but was cut off by me. I screamed and charged towards the Nightmare. It cocked its head and slit its eyes, running right towards me. I lunged forward at the Nightmare expecting it to try and ram me, but instead it just side stepped me and kept going. I felt accomplished and upset, as my grip loosened from the axe. The dragon had been too afraid to face me, which was really impressive considering it was a Monstrous Nightmare. But, I still didn't get to fight a Monstrous Nightmare.

My quick pout was short-lived though, as I heard a yell come from behind me. This wasn't a yell of combat, but one of fear. I turned around to view what was the source of the noise, only to have my heart drop.

The Nightmare had only avoided her to attack Asmund, who was staring and screaming at the incoming Nightmare. I gripped my axe again with the strength I had just lost and threw it at the beast's head. The rage and fear I was feeling for my brother had caused my arms to shake though and the axe flew by the nightmare and lodged itself into the well behind it. At the sight of this, I couldn't help but scream in fear.

"Asmund!" I yelped with false hope, knowing that nothing was going to stop the Nightmare now. I pinned Asmund to the ground and raised its head, preparing to do its worse.

But then I heard it. A noise that had been in Viking lore for generations. A dragon so fierce that no one had ever conquered it. A loud shriek I haven't heard in five long years…

"_Night Fury!"_

"_Get Down!_"

A bluish-purple ball of plasma was being shot directly at me. Even if it were to hit me, I couldn't seem to move myself. My arms hung limp at my sides, my face stared into the distance. The emotion I felt, the hope I had, the fear and rage all seemed to boil up at the same time, removing me from reality. The ball kept coming, closer and closer until I heard the explosion, as it hit… the Monstrous Nightmare? The beast was hit, and tumbled off the cliff into the water below. With a loud splash, the dragon was gone from my life.

I regained control over my body and rushed over to my brother. He was scared stiff, and didn't blink even when I ran over to try and comfort him. He was shaking, and I could feel his heart beating a hundred miles an hour. Gobber had also rushed over to check on the boy.

"Som'body get Gothi!" He yelled, as another Viking ran towards the elderly woman's home. I was surprised that someone had just been there, prepared to do some easy task, but then I realized something.

The dragons weren't there anymore. They were all flying back towards that elusive dragon haven. Hellheim's Gate. It had happened right then too, right after… that shriek.

As Gothi hurried over to my brother as fast as she could, I stood up to look towards a small black speck heading back towards the horizon. I couldn't help but forget about my brother for a bit when I was trying not to put two and two together, but it was too coincidental. Too obvious.

"It can't be…"

* * *

**Or can it? We'll see. Until my next update, which once again may be away. Until next time, Chao!**


End file.
